Hungary opened a gate.
August 1989, and European borders opened for a picnic
- Thread starter JohnD
- Start date
Hungary opened a gate.
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Hungary did open the gate, it was in their interests to do so.
The people did not "break through" the border. They walked through the border with the full permission ( and possible assistance ) of the Hungarian authorities.
The Hungarian authorities allowed ( maybe encouraged ) the event to happen as a test of what reaction would come from the DDR ( East Germany ) and Russia if East German citizens living in Hungary were allowed to go to West Germany via Austria.
Some East German citizens could obtain permission to holiday in Hungary, many of them then over-stayed in Hungary.
Hungary had a problem housing thousands of over-stayers ( refugees ) from the DDR, The Hungarian authorities were fully aware of the harsh treatment these East German citizens would receive if they were sent back to the DDR. Therefor the Hungarian authorities did not generally extradite over-stayers.
Hungary was required by the DDR to arrest any East German citizens who attempted to cross into Austria from Hungary. The arrested East German citizens would be extradited back to the DDR where they would be tried ( and invariable convicted ) of crimes against the DDR.
The people did not "break through" the border. They walked through the border with the full permission ( and possible assistance ) of the Hungarian authorities.
The Hungarian authorities allowed ( maybe encouraged ) the event to happen as a test of what reaction would come from the DDR ( East Germany ) and Russia if East German citizens living in Hungary were allowed to go to West Germany via Austria.
Some East German citizens could obtain permission to holiday in Hungary, many of them then over-stayed in Hungary.
Hungary had a problem housing thousands of over-stayers ( refugees ) from the DDR, The Hungarian authorities were fully aware of the harsh treatment these East German citizens would receive if they were sent back to the DDR. Therefor the Hungarian authorities did not generally extradite over-stayers.
Hungary was required by the DDR to arrest any East German citizens who attempted to cross into Austria from Hungary. The arrested East German citizens would be extradited back to the DDR where they would be tried ( and invariable convicted ) of crimes against the DDR.
Trouble-makers leaving the country were not necessarily wanted back.
Some of them insisted on staying.
„Wir wollen raus! Wir wollen raus!“
changed to
„Wir bleiben hier! Wir bleiben hier!“
August 1989 was quickly followed by November 1989.
Some of them insisted on staying.
„Wir wollen raus! Wir wollen raus!“
changed to
„Wir bleiben hier! Wir bleiben hier!“
August 1989 was quickly followed by November 1989.
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I employed a Hungarian guy last year.
He said when he was young he could remember being under communist rule. Every village woukd have its party member employed to feed back info about anybody criticising the state.
Here we are 30 years later and Hungarians are members of the EU and free to travel around 27 countries.
That is quite amazing and we should celebrate it.
He said when he was young he could remember being under communist rule. Every village woukd have its party member employed to feed back info about anybody criticising the state.
Here we are 30 years later and Hungarians are members of the EU and free to travel around 27 countries.
That is quite amazing and we should celebrate it.
Mine's a pint, drinks on Notch!
In East Germany family members were frequently "encouraged" to reveal the opinions of other members of their family. It was also quite common for school teachers to ask children about what their parents were doing.
I know several people who grew up in East Germany, they always knew there was a network of STASI " fellow workers" ( Mitarbeiter ) and who to be wary of. But when the wall came down and the STASI archives became searchable they were shocked to find just how many family, friends and colleagues were registered as a STASI Mitarbeiter(in).
D
durhamplumber
Free to travel the world
Rubbish, there are almost 180 countries British passport holders can travel to without visas, some on the list are eu countries and there are some on a separate list that you can travel to without a visa but a visa is issued on arrival. That still leaves a lot of countries where no visa is required. Stick to facts please.
https://justrichest.com/countries-british-can-travel-without-visa/
Yes fillyboy stick to the facts.......generally helped if you read posts more carefully.
I was talking specifically about Hungarian citizens -which is perfectly clear in my post.
I dont think they are generally British passport holders
Apologies, I misunderstood your post.
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